


Deals and Families

by icedpocarie



Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: Fluffy, Gen, Marui is a saint who loves Rikkai, Niou understands, Rikkaidai IS a family, Team Bumblebee - Freeform, very soft but also steelish
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-09
Updated: 2018-05-09
Packaged: 2019-05-04 09:50:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14590383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/icedpocarie/pseuds/icedpocarie
Summary: If it was another member of the team, Niou knows that they'd say yes, too. Because Rikkaidai is their family, dysfunctional as it can be.andMarui can be soft-hearted, but he is also a member of Rikkaidai. And he can steel himself up when the situation calls for it.(aka: Marui and Niou talks after the matches of the U-17 reps match, specifically about why Marui accepted the deal)





	Deals and Families

With his easy-going statements and almost laidback attitude, Marui looks like he doesn’t have the steel or fierceness that is often associated with the members of Rikkai.

In the eyes of the members of the other middle school tennis members, Marui seemed a little too nice to be part of the crazy bunch that makes up Rikkaidai. Marui is as casual as can be, freely interacting with other people while the rest of his team often groups together or with their friends.

Which is why everyone is more than a little shocked that it was not Kite who hit the U-17 member’s knee, but it was Marui. Marui – who had been more than a little kind to both upperclassmen and underclassmen alike. Marui who had taken care of Ootori, of Akaya, of Jirou.

“Why’d you do it?” is what Niou asks him, when the people settle down after the matches and the two of them are getting a drink.

There were beats of silence between the two of them before Marui takes a sip of his drink and asks, “What?”

“You hitting that high schooler’s knees,” Niou sounds exasperated to have expounded on this. When all he sees is Marui’s eyes steeling themselves, he frowns a little as he points out, “That’s not like you, Bunta.”

“Are you sure?” At that, Marui finally glances towards him – and the expression on his face is only a little soft and plenty aggressive. His eyes meet Niou’s before he let a small smile form on his lips and points out, “I’m from Rikkai, too.”

 _Yeah, you are,_ Niou wants to say, _but that didn’t stop you from acting more laidback than the rest of us._

But even as that thought crosses his mind, even Niou knew that Marui _does_ have more than a handful of steel within him. Because he wouldn’t have survived – or thrived – in Rikkai without it.

Still, that didn’t stop Niou from pointing out, “You’re not Akaya, though. Or Sanada, even.”

The _you’re not someone to needlessly hurt if possible_ remains unsaid but it is implied within the words.

“I’m not.” Marui agrees, with a nod of his head and his face returns to its casual look. He takes another sip as Niou just keeps quiet and stares at him observantly.

Niou knows – they all do, but more so him who had been him almost longer than Jackal – that there is only a single reason that can drive Marui to actually go through with any form of violence before his expression settles down and he frowns again.

Marui only played violently a few times – and most of the times, the reason was… the team.

And then it was like gears started to turn in Niou’s head as he suddenly considered that the other player had been called the Negotiator.

“A deal for the team?”

Niou says it as a question. Marui isn’t someone to recklessly make a deal for himself. He has a certain amount of greed inside of him – but more for the team than for his own.

“Yeah.” And it surprises Niou how easily Marui can say this, how he doesn’t even feels the need to flinch or filter his word. He pauses briefly before he adds, “For Mura.”

And Niou doesn’t even need to hear the next words because with that, he already understands. For Rikkaidai, for Yukimura – their team might seem terrifying or horrible for the bystanders, but for what it was worth, they are a family. A dysfunctional one, but a family nonetheless.

In the back of his mind, Niou sometimes wonders how Rikkaidai became as tight-knit as they are. After all, there was no individual in Rikkai who did not have a strong personality. From Yukimura to Sanada, from Marui to Yagyuu – their team had the most colorful of personalities but they _made it work_.

“I see,” Niou finally says. He made a dry chuckle before he points out, “I’d do the same.”

And that brings a small smile on Marui’s lips as he looks at Niou. There was minor fondness in his eyes as he says, “I know.”

Both of them knew that if any other Rikkaidai member had been given that deal – to possibly cure Yukimura’s sickness – they would agree, regardless of their personalities and personal values. After all, Rikkaidai had been a home for their ragtag group of overpowered geniuses that were just a little different from everyone else.

After all, for what it’s worth, Rikkaidai _is_ a family.

 _Their_ family.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I... adore Rikkai, very much endeared, even. When I first wrote fanfics, it was them who I wrote for first, actually. That was years and years back, and even as a young person, I've always been so endeared to this group of crazy, weird bastards who are as equally lovable as they are frustrating. Yukimura Seiichi remains the top anime figure in my life - and Marui is a close second. And then all the other members of Rikkai before anyone else, as well.
> 
> Writing this feels a bit like a trip down the memory lane. And you know, it's amazing. Because I haven't actively kept up with NPOT - but as I write this down, the feelings I've had for Rikkai seems to surpass everyone else's even with the absences.
> 
> Rikkaidai may seem like a group with Magnificent Bastards to everyone else, but for me, they just... seem really close. I love their team dynamics the most, too. You'd think that since everyone's strong, personalities would clash and they'd very much separate when they reach the U-17 camp. But the fact is - while Rikkai has one of the most interschool interactions, they still seem like the group that groups up together the most, too.
> 
> For me, the most evident act of their closeness was what Marui did. I don't think that any other person would agree to make a deal not for themselves, but for another person. Unless you're a member of Rikkai and the person in question is your captain. For the most of NPOT, Marui was given this big, kind elder brother role, so you have to realize how important his members are that he actually went through with the deal. 
> 
> It's just... Rikkai friendship is amazing.
> 
> This A/N is far too long hahaha, but I just... feel so much for them lol.


End file.
